STEM CLASSES FOR KIDS

Summer Camp & After School

NERDING (verb) The act of being a nerd, someone who is smart, curious, and maybe a little obsessed with STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (We substitute Making for the “M” because our nerds are also Makers!)

Invented – Guided – Powered
by a Kyrene Teacher

Niecy Westmoreland

Founder/Teacher/Nerd

Nerding began as a passion project. I’ve always loved teaching STEM, and the very first Nerding summer funded the purchase of some great tech tools for my 4th grade classroom. Let’s be real. I like toys.

But as a teacher, I was faced with the age-old education problem of “never enough time”. With so much being asked of our students and teachers, so often the first things to get cut from the classroom are science and creative projects.

One answer to “never enough time” was to actually create more time. I started designing extracurricular classes that melded important academic content with cutting edge tools and engaging activities. As long as they were hands on and interactive, kids would be able to engage deeply with the content in an after school and summer setting, thus giving us “more time”.

I also saw the kinds and quality of the classes being offered after school at my campus and in summer programs. The problems were glaring: same classes being offered over and over for years, too many kids in the class, and instructors that were college age or couldn’t manage a classroom.

The answer to this one is so simple, use cutting edge tools with academic curriculum, keep student/teacher ratios low, and employ real teachers with classroom experience. The class content can be learned by our teachers relatively quickly, but classroom management and the ability to question and push kids’ thinking is a skill we hone for our entire careers.

Anyway, the rest is history. Hope to see your nerd in a class soon!

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Alice M

“These are the BEST classes and his Nerding teacher is AMAZING! My third grade son absolutely loves science and these classes engage his interest and thinking skills at a whole new level! He is always eager to share with me what he did and the concepts learned in class each week. Thanks for all that you do!”

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Julie L

“R LOVED the classes and I really liked coming to his final day to watch his rocket launch for Space Science. You are fantastic. You have such a fun adventurous spirit and I think the kids really respond to that. R actually modified his rocket for his first ever science project. He retained the information and loved it.”

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Kathleen B

“M LOVED it. He learned a TON and you built so much background knowledge into their brains that it will come back to them as they learn more and more about space!
Bottom line for me is that if M loved it, and felt safe and confident about his experience, it was a win for all of us! He will be back!”

Classes for the 21st Century

Custom Curriculm – Highly Engaging – Deep Understanding

Science

Real science kids can understand. No flashy demonstrations with no knowledge transfer here. Kids will come home with a story of how instead of just what.

Technology

Learning how technology can help us solve problems is the goal. Use technology to work for you to create and augment learning and sharing information.

Engineering

The world has so many problems. Let’s work on solving them. Use the Engineering Design Process to Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve ideas and designs!

Making

Tinker! Create! Build! Get your hands dirty! Kids shift from being a consumer to being a producer. Work on fine motor skills and learn properties of materials.

Robotics

Robotic technologies are advancing quickly and integrating more and more into everything we do! Plus, we must be ready when they try to take over, right?

Coding

Coding is becoming a fundamental literacy. The basics are important in almost any career, and kids need to be prepared for a digital future we can’t even imagine yet!



Science

Real science kids can understand. No flashy demonstrations with no knowledge transfer here. Kids will come home with a story of how instead of just what.



Technology

Learning how technology can help us solve problems is the goal. Use technology to work for you to create and augment learning and sharing information.



Engineering

The world has so many problems. Let’s work on solving them. Use the Engineering Design Process to Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve ideas and designs!



Making

Tinker! Create! Build! Get your hands dirty! Kids shift from being a consumer to being a producer. Work on fine motor skills and learn properties of materials.



Robotics

Robotic technologies are advancing quicky and integrating more and more into everything we do! Plus, we must be ready when they try to take over, right?



Coding

Coding is becoming a fundemental literacy. The basics are important in almost any career, and kids need to be prepared for a digital future we can’t even imagine yet!

How We’ve Grown

2014

Our first (adorably humble) summer. We kept it small and simple holding classes at our house in Chandler.